Linguistic Diversity and
Normative Political Theory
Huw Lewis
Introduction
• Normative political theory and cultural
diversity.
• Recent literature has focused on the issue of
linguistic diversity.
• Key question:
– On what grounds should measures to support the
prospects of linguistic communities be viewed as
normatively required?
The Value of Linguistic Diversity
• A popular argument:
– Measures to support various linguistic communities should
be viewed as normatively required due to the value of
linguistic diversity.
• An argument that focuses on how society in general
benefits from the existence of linguistic diversity.
• Advocates:
– David Crystal, Language Death (CUP, 2000).
– Daniel Nettle and Suzanne Romaine, Vanishing Voices
(OUP, 2000).
The Aesthetic Value of Linguistic
Diversity
• Different languages provide different ways of expressing
views, emotions or of producing art.
• ‘Humanity gains so much from each fresh expression of
itself in a language ... The best way for an educated person
to feel the power of this argument ... is to ask what would
be missed if – through an imaginary catastrophic language
disappearance – we had never had X (where X is any wellknown language). What splendours of literature, in
particular, would we have never experienced if some event
had prematurely ended the development of French,
Spanish or Russian?’ (Crystal 2000: 45).
The Scientific Value of Linguistic
Diversity
• The maintenance of linguistic diversity is important for the
continued development of linguistics as a social science.
• ‘Linguists need to study as many different languages as
possible if they are to perfect their theories of language
structure and to train future generations of students in
linguistic analysis ... Satisfying answers to many current
puzzles about languages and their origins will not emerge
until linguists have studied many languages. To exclude
exotic languages from our study is like expecting botanists
to study only florist shop roses and greenhouse tomatoes
and then tell us what the plant world is like’ (Nettle and
Romaine 2000: 10-1).
The Scientific Value of Linguistic
Diversity
• The maintenance of linguistic diversity is important for the
advancement of scientific knowledge in general.
• ‘The knowledge contained in indigenous languages has
much to contribute to scientific theories through the
uncovering of potentially invaluable perspectives on a
variety of problems such as land management, marine
technology, plant cultivation and animal husbandry’ (Nettle
and Romaine 2000: 51).
Concerns
• Should those who wish to advocate in favour of policies
which support minority language communities pursue the
value of diversity argument?
• Problem 1:
– A line of argument that does not provide a strong basis for
claiming that policies supporting minority language
communities are normatively required.
– The supposed benefits are too diffuse to justify the potential
costs or obligations.
• Problem 2:
– A line of argument that does not give due consideration to the
views of the members of particular linguistic communities.
– It leads to the establishment of moral duties rather than rights.
Conclusion
• Arguments in support of language
maintenance efforts that have as their starting
points the interests of the members of
particular linguistic communities, as opposed
to society in general, are likely to carry much
more force, but also to be less problematic
from a moral perspective.